The World Wizard Tournament
by RansomeNote
Summary: Lucy thinks she is not carrying her weight on jobs, so Mira proposes that she signs up for the World Wizard Tournament. Along the way, Lucy makes new friends and enemies to reach her goal of becoming World Wizard Champion. I do not own Fairy Tail!
1. The WWT

_Another day of me being useless and not doing anything_. Lucy thought as she walked back into the guild. The guild was very rowdy, as usual. She dodged six flying chairs on her way to the bar, a new record! She sat down at the bar and ordered her regular strawberry milkshake. "Lucy!" Someone yelled. Lucy turned around to see Lisanna coming to sit next to her.

"Hey Lisanna." Lucy said as she gave Lisanna a side-hug once she sat down. Lisanna had become a really close friend to her once she had come back.

"How did the job go?" Lisanna asked innocently. Lucy immediately banged her head on the table, peering through her golden bangs to see Mira put a milkshake in front of her. Mira stared at her with a sad expression.

"What happened, doll?" Mira asked in a nice soothing voice. Lucy started to tell them about the job she just went on, and most jobs for her in general. She also tells them that her only use is paying for the destruction that the rest of the team caused. Lisanna and Mira quickly denied it, but Lucy wouldn't listen.

Lisanna and Mira gave up trying because they knew that nothing they said was processing through her ears. Mira suddenly had an idea, and rushed out from behind the counter and towards the request board. Lisanna and Lucy followed her with their eyes, occasionally glancing at each other to ask each other if they knew what was up. Mira quickly got behind the counter again and slammed the request in front of Lucy, which startled her for a bit. "Here is something you can do."

Lucy looked at the request, on it said:

**LOOKING FOR PARTICIPANTS FOR THE 3****rd**** ANNUAL WORLD WIZARD TOURNAMENT!**

**Location: Clover Town**

**Time span: 1 month**

**Reward: All regular participants: 60,000 jewel; the winner of the tournament: 400,000 jewel, the golden WWT trophy.**

**Only need 46 participants, so hurry to Clover Town now!**

**Deadline: February 2****nd****. **

_That's in two days!_ Lucy thought as she started to panic. Then she realized that she had to tell Mira that she was taking the job. "Mira! This is great! Now I'll know how to really test my skills. But… do you guys really think I can win?" Lucy said with a downcast expression at the last part.

Mira reached over the bar to put her hands on her shoulders. "I have full faith that you will win. Also, I didn't just give you the job to see if you can beat everyone in the tournament. I gave you that job to show you how much you have grown as a wizard so far." Mira took her hands off of Lucy's shoulders and smiled.

Lisanna nudged her with her elbow. "Hey, I _know_ you can win. You are strong, even if you don't see it. You have lots of potential Lucy, you just have to try and unlock it." Lisanna said as she gave Lucy another hug. "So, are you going to take it?" She asked.

Lucy thought about it for a second. She found it awesome that even if she didn't win, she would still get money. However, a month was a very long time, so she wouldn't be able to see her family in a long time. "You know what? I think I am going to do it!" Lucy said with a smile. Mira grinned as she stamped the paper. She came out from behind the counter to give Lucy a hug. Lucy accepted it with full arms, and then proceeded to hug Lisanna, who was already awaiting her turn. "Before I go, I should tell Master what I am doing." She said as she quickly ascended up the stairs and into the master's office. When she entered, Makarov looked up with a scowl, but his look quickly turned into one of happiness.

"Lucy, my child, it is nice to see you. I thought you were my ass of a grandson. Leaving me with all this paperwork." Makarov mumbled the last part. Lucy giggled as she placed the job request in front of him.

"Master, I'm taking this job and I will be gone for a month. I want to learn how to hone my skills and make myself better. Don't worry, I'll come back right when I'm finished." She said. The master looked at her and sighed.

"Alright child, if this is what you want. I'll be cheering for you on the sidelines." Makarov said as he stood up on his desk and gave Lucy a hug. "Best of luck, Lucy."

"Thank you, master." She said as she exited the room. Right outside stood Levy, and Lucy was quickly tackled into a hug.

"Lu-chan, Lisanna told me everything. Just to let you know, I fully support your decision." Lucy thanked Levy and gave her one last hug.

"Shoot, I have to go pack my stuff, the deadline is the day after tomorrow and it takes eleven hours to get to Clover Town. Bye, Levy-chan, I'll miss you." Lucy said.

Lucy quickly raced down the stairs and said her final goodbyes to Mira and Lisanna. The rest of the guild members were wondering why Lucy was so jumpy, but they just brushed it off. Lucy looked around to see if Team Natsu was there, which they weren't. Lucy just shrugged it off. If she didn't catch them before she left, she would just send them letters.

Lucy jumped on the stony ledge leading to her apartment. Her balance was impeccable as she ran across it like she would on solid ground. She hopped off the ledge once she reached her apartment, unlocked the door, and proceeded to pack her stuff. When she opened her door, she found Erza, Natsu and Gray doing their own thing. "What the hell, guys?" Lucy shouted at them. Gray and Natsu jumped in surprise, but Erza still had the same expression on.

"You weren't at the guild, so we thought that you would be here!" Natsu said with his trademark grin. Lucy was finding it hard to stay mad at them anymore, so she just sighed and started to walk to her bed and pull out her suitcase.

"I was at the guild, I was just talking to Master." Lucy said simply as she proceeded to pack some clothes into her bag.

"Lucy, where are you going?" Gray asked as he walked up to her. Lucy turned around to face the three of them, ready to be yelled at by Natsu and Gray.

"I'm leaving… to go on a solo mission." Lucy said. It was quiet for a moment before the two boys started to yell.

"LUCE! WHY ARE YOU LEAVING?"

"SOLO MISSION? WE'RE A TEAM!"

"Enough, you two!" Erza said as she knocked their heads together, but still kept them conscious. "It is Lucy's choice to make. May I ask what job you are going on?" Lucy handed her the job request, and all three mages crowed around it as Lucy resumed her packing.

"The World Wizard Tournament. That is a great thing to participate in Lucy. I wish you the best of luck." Erza said as she slammed Lucy into her chest. Lucy was gasping for air as she let go, and was about to fall down when someone caught her. She looked up to see Gray smiling at her.

"Good luck, Lucy. I'll miss you." He said as he gave her a tight hug. "And if anyone gives you any shit…"

"I'll know who to call." Lucy finished. Gray chuckled and let go of her, but she was quickly put into a bear hug by another person. It was none other than her fiery, pink-haired best friend Natsu. He was hugging her so tightly that she thought she was going to suffocate. "Natsu, Natsu. Hey, I'll miss you too." Lucy said with a harse voice as she was trying to catch her breath.

"Go kick some ass Lucy, I'm rooting for ya!" He said as he released her. He flashed his trademark grin and Lucy did the same.

"Thanks Natsu, you're the best! I'm happy you guys are so understanding towards my decision." Lucy said. Erza and Gray smiled, and Natsu gave a sort of crooked smile. He was happy that she was going to show off her skills, but he was going to miss her while she will be gone for a month.

"Of course, Lucy. Do what you need to do, we'll watch the tournament for the lacrima at Fairy Tail." Erza said.

"Thanks guys. I better go before I miss my train." Lucy said as she finished packing her stuff. The four of them walked to the train station, and Natsu got sick just looking at the trains. He toughed it out for Lucy, because he didn't want Erza knocking him out before he could say goodbye. "Alright guys, my train's here." She said as she gave each of them one last hug. She boarded the train with only one thought in mind.

_Just you guys wait. I'll come back…stronger than ever._

~Time Skip: After 10 hour train~

Lucy was walking through Clover town, trying to find where the registration was. Lucy was looking at her request so she didn't notice that she was walking straight into someone. They both bumped into each other and said sorry at the same time. "Oh, sorry, that was my fault." Lucy said.

"No, no, no, I wasn't looking where I was going." The girl said. She looked about 18, and she had silky light brown hair and soft, teal colored eyes. Her skin was a dark olive color, and she had sharp canines that were visible when she smiled. She also had two silver rings on her left ear and one copper ring on her right. The girl picked up Lucy's job request. "Are you lost?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm trying to find registration." Lucy said sheepishly. The girl just sighed.

"I see the people who made the job request failed to mention that the registration was in the forest _outside_ Clover Town." She said with an eye roll. "Don't worry, I'll take you there. I'm Aniyah, by the way. Aniyah Tyson." She said as she stuck out her hand. Lucy accepted the hand and shook it.

"Lucy Heartfilia. Are you a participant of the tournament, too?" Lucy asked.

"Me? Oh, no. I was last year, and I came into the finals before I lost. However, people cannot participate two years in a row." She said. Lucy nodded and they both walked in comfortable silence. They made their way towards Clover Forest, and Lucy knew that her journey has just begun.

**I hope you liked that story. Tell if there is anything that you didn't like or liked, because I'm open to all criticism. OC submissions are closed because having too many OCs is 1. confusing 2. OP and 3. Stressful for me to keep up with all of the personalities and such.  
><strong>


	2. A Trip through Clover Forest

Aniyah and Lucy were still walking through the dense forest outside of Clover Town**. **They joked and laughed and Lucy found that Aniyah was a very easy person to talk to.

"So, you're from Fairy Tail?" She asked. Lucy looked at her, shocked.

"How did you…" Aniyah cut her off by pointing at her hand. "Oh… yeah, I am. What about you? Are you from any guild?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah, I'm from Lamia Scale." She said as she pulled up her sleeve to show a yellow Lamia scale mark on her right shoulder. It was very visible, due to the fact that her skin was an olive color and yellow practically was glow in the dark in contrast. "I came back this year to watch the tournament in person, since I couldn't participate." She said with a shrug.

"I came to try to hone my skills. You see, I felt as if I was never carrying my own weight in jobs, so the barmaid at my guild offered to send me here." Lucy said. Aniyah's teal eyes moved over to Lucy, and she gave a soft smile.

"If you want, I can train you. I mean, my dad was a drill sergeant in the army, so I can be pretty strict." Aniyah offered. Lucy looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You would do that? Why?" Lucy asked as she ducked under another branch of a low hanging tree. Aniyah just sighed.

"Well, I suppose it is just motivation. And I love helping people anyway, so why not?" Aniyah ended with a grin.

"Thanks, Aniyah. It really means a lot." Aniyah spent another five minutes denying that she is really doing anything. Suddenly, the two girls heard footsteps in the woods a few meters to the right. Lucy immediately reached for her keys to attack, but Aniyah beat her to it.

Blue lightning started to form around Aniyah as she started to growl. "Seismic Destruction!" She screamed as she sent a bolt of lightning through the ground, making a spot explode about five meters in front of them, behind a very large Yew tree trunk.

Lucy shielded her eyes from the explosion, but she heard a fait voice scream, "Earth God's Rock Wave!" When Lucy opened her eyes again, she saw that most of the trees around them had been knocked down and the ground was all disoriented. "Was that necessary Aniyah? It is not nice to attack other people." She heard a masculine voice say in a teasing way. She looked at Aniyah, and saw that her fists were clenched slightly. Once the dust cleared she was a muscular boy that looked around eighteen, same age as Aniyah, maybe a little bit older. He had shaggy black hair and shining silver eyes. He had two daggers on the belt he was wearing with a baggy black t-shirt and black combat pants. Now that Lucy had a closer look, she saw that the boy was barefoot. However, all in all, the boy was quite handsome.

"Shut it, Rip Off. You have no room to tell people how to be nice." Aniyah sneered.

"Now, now Niya, are you still upset that I beat you last year?" He said with a smirk towards her.

"No, I've gotten over that. I'm upset that I have to see your ugly ass face again." Aniyah said with a smirk of her own. The boy glared at her, but then turned his attention towards Lucy.

"And who might you be, beautiful?" He asked as he walked up to Lucy and put an arm around her.

"Uh, L-Lucy Heartfilia." Lucy stuttered, she was beginning to feel uncomfortable with him being this close.

"A fitting name for a lovely girl such as yourself. I am Isaac Yasemaru. Earth God Slayer, champion of the World Wizard Tournament…"

"And con man." Aniyah cut him off, looking at Lucy. "Isaac here is known for his tricks in poker. He made seven hundred million jewel once… cheating, of course. Call him Rip Off, everyone does." Aniyah said with a glare towards the handsome boy.

"Oh, you wound me Niya, you really do. Why must you be so cold?" Isaac said with a hand over his heart as he put on a dramatic expression. Lucy slipped out of his grasp and went towards Aniyah, feeling uncomfortable in the man's presence. This was exactly what she felt when she first met Loke. She shifted her gaze to his collarbone to find a golden Blue Pegasus guild mark there. _That explains a lot._ Lucy thought.

"Well, if you would excuse us, I need to direct Lucy towards the registration for the tournament." Aniyah said as she and Lucy were about to walk away.

"Oh? You are registering for the tournament, Lucy? I am heading back in that direction also, so I'll accompany you." Aniyah was about to protest, but Isaac had already taken Lucy by the hand and started to lead her away. Aniyah was a good walking distance behind them, reading a book that she had pulled out from her backpack.

"Hey, Isaac?" Lucy asked.

"Hm?" Isaac hummed in acknowledgement to Lucy.

"Did you cheat during the tournament and that's why Aniyah hates you?" Isaac just started to chuckle.

"No, I didn't cheat, and Aniyah knows that too." He started. "I think it's because I remind her too much of her late brother. He was about three years younger than the two of us, but he was a really cool guy. I actually met him before I met her because both of us were out on a job together. We were friends for about a year, but he…died while trying rescue a few people who were trapped in an underground mine, due to a cave in. Aniyah was devastated. And I guess she just doesn't like me because I have a similar personality to her brother. It's like I bring back bad memories for her." He explained with a sullen expression. Lucy just put a hand on his shoulder, and gave him a soft smile.

"I'm sure Aniyah just acts like that. I think that she thinks of you as friend, but she just doesn't know how to show it." Lucy said. Isaac just smiled back at her, and then looked in front again, seeing a light at the end of the forest.

"Yo, Niya! We're almost out of the forest, get your head out of that book!" Aniyah looked up from her book and scowled at him, before putting the book securely back into her bag. The three of them walked out of the dense forest and into a clearing where there stood a huge building. It was super crowded with lots of different people and street performers.

"Not all of these people are participating; most of them are just here for the party." Isaac explained. Lucy asked about the party, and Isaac stared at her weirdly. "The people who host the tournament hold a party every year before the tournament starts. Haven't you heard of it?" Lucy just shook her head.

Isaac had to leave to do some errands, so he said his farewells and left. Aniyah directed Lucy towards the reception counter, and told her to meet her up in the rooms that the tournament provided for the contestants and the people watching it. Lucy nodded as Aniyah gave her the spare key and said goodbye. Lucy walked up to the registration lady.

"Hi, I'm Lucy Heartfilia. I want to register for the tournament." The lady looked up from her paperwork and smiled.

"Of course. You're in luck! There happens to be one spot open, so just fill out these forms and we'll get you registered quickly." Lucy filled out the forms that the lady gave her and signed her name and the bottom, then handed it back to the lady. "Thank you. Do you already have a place to stay or do you need a room?"

"I have a place to stay, thank you." Lucy said as she walked away from the woman. Tonight was the party for all of the incoming participants. And tomorrow, the real challenge begins.

**Hello, I hope you liked this chapter. I still need a lot more OCs, so if you want to send one in, you can fill out the form on the first chapter. Anyway, tell me what you thought about this chapter. Next chapter will cover the party and the beginning of the games, so it is the perfect time to send an OC in now. Also, some background info:**

**Aniyah: Seismic Lightning Magic- she can send electrical currents through the ground and can also create earthquakes that will paralyze anyone who is in the radius of where she casts the spell. **

**Isaac: Earth God Slayer (I don't think he needs an explanation.)**


	3. Just skip this

**Hello! Anyway, my damn system isn't working, and I have to update another chapter for the last chapter to go through. So if you are reading this you are completely wasting your time. :)**

**Anyway, I hope you liked the story so far, leave and OC and review! Thanks!**


	4. Very Interesting People

**I do NOT own Fairy Tail. I only own Isaac and Aniyah. All other OCs have rights to their original owners. If your OC is not in this chapter, don't worry, because I probably have a plan for them in the next chapter. On with the story.**

After getting herself registered, and getting lost a few times, she finally arrived at the hotel she would be staying at. It was a tall brick building with at least eight floors. She entered and asked the reception lady where she would find room 418. The old lady scowled at her, called her a stupid blonde, and told her that it was obviously on the fourth floor. It took everything in Lucy's right mind to stop her from Lucy Kicking the old lady. Lucy just gave a sickly sweet smile and darted up the stairs.

"416…417…418!" Lucy said as she was passing the rooms. She inserted the key into the lock and unlocked the door. The room was pretty big, plus there was a balcony overlooking Clover Forest and the town. There were three beds to the right side of the room, and two of them were occupied. On one of the beds was Aniyah, who was reading _Gulliver's Travels _with her reading glasses on. On her right was a skinny girl who looked around 15. Her hair was so blonde that it was almost white. Her eyes were a deep gray and her skin was slightly tanned. She had a sound pod around her neck, like Laxus, and was wearing a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a loose graphic tank top.

Aniyah looked up from her book to see Lucy standing at the door. "Oh, Lucy! You're here. There's someone I want you to meet." She motions for Lucy to come over. By that time the other girl had already taken out her sound pod and looked straight at her. "Lucy, this is Misaki Yukimura, she'll be a participant in the tournament like you." Lucy outstretched her hand.

"It's nice to meet you." Lucy said. Misaki looked at her hand, and shook it.

"Likewise. It's good to see a fresh face around here. Most participants came here in mid-January because they wanted to scope out the competition and train. I'm taking it that you were the last one to enter?" She asked. Lucy nodded. "Figures, you came a bit late. Let's see if you can make the cut." Misaki said with a wink. Lucy's eyes widened.

"What cut?" She asked. Aniyah just sighed.

"You can't have a one on one match with 46 people and have only one winner, it just wouldn't be equal. The cut is when they give the contestants a task and they eliminate fourteen of them, leaving us with 32 people, which can be divided equally until we get a champion." She explained. Lucy just made an 'o' with her mouth. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. You just have to finish the task in time and you're in."

"Speaking of time, we have to get ready for the party tonight. You sure you're not coming Aniyah?" Misaki asked.

"Yeah, I don't do parties." She said as she lay back down on her bed.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Lucy asked.

"You can't. It's mandatory that participants and past winners attend. Since Aniyah isn't either, she doesn't have to go." Misaki said.

"Oh, so Isaac and the winner before him will be there?" Lucy asked as she got out her long burgundy dress.

"Yeah, it will just be Isaac and Sam because they're our only two winners. Also, champions of the tournament cannot reenter, even if the person wasn't the winner of the year before." Aniyah explained. Lucy just nodded as she proceeded to get ready. Misaki came out of the bathroom wearing a black and white striped blazer with a black shirt underneath, black skinny jeans, and black boots. All in all, even though her choice of clothing wasn't very formal, it still made her look very pretty.

"Wait, is his party formal or not?" Lucy asked as she slipped on her dress.

"It is, this is just the most formal thing I have." Misaki said with a shrug. Lucy finished tying up her hair in her little side pony and finished putting on the little makeup that she had. She strapped her keys around her thigh in case she needed to use them. "You ready?" She asked.

"Yup!" Lucy said with a grin. Before they could say their farewells to Aniyah and walk out the door, they heard a knock. "Uh…come in." Lucy said.

Opening the door stood Isaac in a black tux with a navy blue tie and black dress shoes. His shaggy black hair was combed over his left eye, leaving his one shiny silver eye visible. "Hello ladies." Isaac said with a million dollar smirk. Lucy and Misaki giggled, and Aniyah scowled and rolled her eyes. "Would you give me the honor of escorting you to the casino?" Lucy and Misaki rolled their eyes, but said yes anyway, linking arms with him. "You ain't coming, Niya?" Isaac asked. Aniyah just shook her head, not looking at him. For a small moment, Lucy saw a sad expression cross his eyes, but it went away as quickly as it came. "Alright, let's go ladies." He said with a boyish grin.

"If you try anything, you better hope that there is a hospital nearby." Misaki said with a glare, but that quickly turned into a sickly sweet smile. Isaac nodded quickly and the three of them started out the door. As they were making their way down the hall to the stairs, they heard a weird swishing sound. _What is that?_ thought Lucy. She took a quick peak behind her to see a metal frying pan being flung in their direction.

"Oh God, duck!" Lucy screamed, and Misaki seemed to catch on quickly enough. Sadly, this wasn't the case for Isaac and it hit him square in the back on the head, promptly sending him to the ground, unconscious.

"There you are, you asswipe!" The two girls heard a childish voice scream. "I've been looking all over for you!" Down the hall about twenty feet away stood a small, lightly tanned girl with purple hair and brilliant blue eyes. She was wearing a pink short dress that ended at her knees that had short sleeves and beautiful blue designs on it. She didn't look older than twelve. The girl ran up to Isaac's unconscious body and started to double slap his face. "HOW DARE YOU SELL ME SOME CHEAP CUPCAKE FOR $25 WHEN YOU TOLD ME THAT IT WAS A LIMITED EDITION CUPCAKE FROM SUGARLAND! YOU MONSTER!" The girl yelled as Isaac finally regained his consciousness from all the slapping. Isaac roughly pushed her off of him.

"Holy crap, that hurt like hell!" Isaac said rubbing the back of his head in agony. The girl put her hands on her hips and looked at him with a stern expression.

"Watch your language! Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?!" She screamed at him as Isaac glared at her. Lucy had to put a hand on her mouth to stop her from giggling, and Misaki just burst out laughing, holding her stomach. The girl's expression quickly changed as she looked at Lucy and Misaki. "Hi, I'm Liz, it's nice to meet cha!" The girl said with a childish grin. Lucy and Misaki just sweat dropped.

"Well, I'm Misaki and this is Lucy. That was a pretty brave thing you did there, taking on a guy that is about twice your height." Misaki complimented.

"Well, he messed with my cupcake order, and no one messes with my cupcakes! NO ONE!" She exclaimed as a deathly aura wrapped around her. "Anyway, are you two participants in the tournament?" Liz asked as she picked up her frying pan. The two girls just nodded, a bit confused about her mood change. "Awesome! I am too!" She said. Lucy started to look around the girl. The frying pan wasn't there anymore!

"Wait, how old are you? You have to be at least fourteen to enter." Misaki said with a suspicious expression.

"Silly, I know that! I'm fifteen." She said. Misaki raised her eyebrows and Lucy just gaped. This child-like girl is a teen? "Come on, let's go down to the party, I don't want to stay up here all night." Liz said as she grabbed Lucy's hand and started to drag her away, Misaki following a little bit behind. Isaac finally gained his composure and started to walk with them. "I'm still mad at you Rip Off." She said as she turned to glare at Isaac, who gave a glare right back at her.

The four of them walked across the street until they reached a huge casino that was fully lit up. There were thousands of people inside the casino, gambling, getting drunk, and dancing. "Well, if you ladies would excuse me, I must show these amateurs how to play poker." Isaac said as he straightened his tie and walked off.

"I'm going to the snack counter to see if they have good desserts." Liz squealed as she disappeared into the crowd, leaving Misaki and Lucy there speechless. Misaki decided to break the silence.

"I like her, she has spunk." She said. Lucy just nodded as the two of them made their way through the crowd of people. Suddenly, Lucy and Misaki felt a pair of arms wrap around their waists. They looked to see a handsome man with tanned skin, honey blonde hair, and golden brown eyes. He was muscular, but not buff, and he held a smirk on his handsome face that would have made most girls faint. He was wearing a black tux with a red dress shirt underneath, that held a skinny black tie. He also had black dress shoes.

"Good evening, ladies." He said as he untangled his arms around their waists. "I'm Apollo. A pleasure to make your acquaintance." He said with a deep bow. As he stood up again, he felt someone yank at his ear. "Owch! Artie, that hurt!" Apollo said as he pouted at the girl who came up to him.

"Good, I hope you aren't feeding any of your nonsense to these poor girls." said a girl that looked the same age as Apollo. She had porcelain skin, platinum blonde hair, and midnight blue eyes. She was wearing a multilayered navy blue dress that shined like a million stars, and really accented her eyes. Her hair had multiple feathers neatly braided into her hair. She turned to the two girls who were just watching the whole scene unfold. "I sincerely apologize for any trouble my brother has given you. I am Artemis, at you service." She said with a formal expression. Lucy looked behind her to see that there were a pack of huge wolves behind her. Lucy's eyes widened, which did not go unnoticed by Artemis. "They will not harm you, unless I tell them to, of course." This made Lucy and Misaki take an unconscious step backwards.

"Well, I'm going to get a drink. Want anything?" Misaki asked. Lucy and Artemis curtly shook their heads. However, Apollo nodded.

"I would love one. Allow me to escort you, I can't have a lovely lady like yourself alone." Apollo said as he led Misaki away.

"So…that's your brother? You guys don't act anything alike." Lucy asked Artemis who was now standing right next to her with her pack behind her.

"Yes that is my brother, we're twins, in fact. And I will take it as a compliment that we are not similar. I wouldn't be caught dead spitting nonsense out of my mouth like him." Artemis said straightforwardly. Lucy nodded.

"Yes, I understand. I have a spirit who is a huge flirt. Sometimes it's hard to get him to focus." Lucy told her. Artemis raised one eyebrow.

"A celestial spirit mage? Very interesting. You don't see too many of those anymore." One of the wolves came up to her and snuggled into her hand. "What is it, Dankana?" **(Greek word for 'claw')**. It seemed as if she could understand everything that the wolf was saying. "I must go. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." Artemis said very politely.

"It's Lucy, Lucy Heartfilia. It has been a pleasure to meet you Artemis." Lucy said as she gave a slight bow.

"The pleasure is all mine, Ms. Heartfilia. I hope we meet again." She said as she and her wolves exited the building and took off towards Clover Forest.

_Nice girl, a little stern, but very polite. _Thought Lucy as she went to the round table where about seven or eight people were playing poker. One of these people was Isaac, who had a large stack of chips near him while the rest of the people had almost none. "Hey, Isaac." Lucy said hesitantly, as she didn't want to disrupt his game.

Isaac turned around to meet her with a smile. "Hi, Lucy. I'll talk in a minute, after I beat all of them." He said with a wink. Lucy thought she might as well just stay around. Isaac was playing the game like a professional. It was like he knew what everyone else was going to do. In less than five minutes, the game was over and Isaac had won all of the money. "That took longer than I thought it would." Isaac mumbled as he collected all his chips that he was probably going to trade in for money later. "So, make any new friends?" Isaac asked.

"A few. There are some pretty…interesting people here." Lucy told him. Isaac nodded, and suddenly, it looked like he just remembered something.

"Come on, Lucy. There's someone I want you to meet." Isaac didn't wait for Lucy's answer as he started dragging her towards the bar. It looks like he was headed in the direction of a muscular blonde man, who looked around the age of 24. "Hey, Sam!" Isaac called as he caught the blonde man's attention. "Come over here!" The blonde man left his drink at the bar as he made his way over to Isaac and Lucy. Lucy took this time to study his features. His blonde hair complimented his orange eyes. He was wearing a nice black suit with a white undershirt, a red tie, a pair of black leather gloves, and some fancy dress shoes. "Sam, I want you to meet Lucy. Lucy, I want you to meet Samuel Steele. He was the former champion of the tournament before me." Sam stuck out his gloved hand and Lucy did the same, and they gave each other's hands a good shake.

"It's nice to meet you Lucy!" He said with a big grin, which kind of reminded her of Natsu. Once they disconnected their hands, he dug his hands into his pocket and pulled out a block of silvery-gray metal. He quickly clenched his hand around it, and once he unclenched it, it was transformed into a metal rose. He handed it to her. "For the lady." He said as he shot her a good natured grin. By that grin, she could tell that he was not trying to flirt with her, he was just trying to be friendly.

"Thank you, it's beautiful. And it is nice to meet you too Sam." Lucy said with a dazzling smile, still holding the metal rose.

"LUCY!" Lucy turned her head to see Misaki rushing towards her. "There you are, I've been looking all over for you." She said as she took a sip from her punch.

"Hey Isaac, can you get my drink from the bar?" Sam asked. Isaac nodded his head as he started off towards the bar. "And you better not put something strong in it to get me drunk or something!" Sam quickly added.

"You know I don't do shit like that." Isaac replied. Misaki had a knowing smirk on her face.

"Hey Isaac, _you kiss your mother with that mouth?_" Misaki said as the last part was raised an octave to try to sound like Liz's.

"That's an insult!" Isaac yelled while glaring.

"An insult? Or a fact?" Isaac's glare just intensified and he and Misaki were having a short glaring contest before he turned back to the bar. Samuel just had a confused look on his face as he looked over at Lucy.

"I'll tell you later." Lucy said, and Sam gave another happy-go-lucky grin.

"Well, I better go find my brother. He should be around here somewhere." Sam said after he got his drink from Isaac. Lucy nodded and said her farewell to him.

The rest of the time that they were at the party was spent in laughs and cheers and dancing. By the time it was around one in the morning, Lucy and Misaki were starting to feel a little tipsy, so they left the casino and went back to their hotel room.

When they entered, they saw that all of the lights were on, but Aniyah was silently sleeping under the covers of her bed. Lucy and Misaki quickly changed into their night clothes and got into bed.

"Good night, Lucy."

"Sleep tight, Misaki."

They'll need their rest for tomorrow.

**I hope everyone enjoyed that chapter. Thank you to Starcrossed68, SSBB forever, perseusjackson101, Libby8980, and Benthino for sending in their OCs. Tell me if you liked this chapter or didn't in the comments below. Don't worry I am good with criticism. Like I said before, if your OC was not in this chapter, don't worry, I probably have a plan for them in the next chapter. Anyways, laters. **


	5. Training Comes Calling

_Lucy was back at the guild. She was at the bar having a milkshake all alone. She didn't look the same. Her shiny golden hair was ruffled a bit and a bit dirty, dulling away the luster. Her eyes had dark bags under them, and she looked like she hadn't slept in days. Her skin was a pale color, and she was feeling faint._

_Just then, someone took her by her shoulder and threw her out of the bar chair and onto the floor. Her guild mates started to surround her, snickering and pointing at her. She started to look around, wondering what the matter was. _This isn't the Fairy Tail I know, what's happening? _Thought Lucy. Natsu stepped out of the crowd. Her pink-haired best friend was grinning, but it wasn't that goofy grin that always cheered her up when she was sad. No, it was an evil grin, one that she had never seen on him. _

_The crowd behind him started to chant to Lucy. 'Weak' they said. Lucy couldn't believe her ears. Levy, Lisanna, Mira, and even little Wendy was chanting to her. Natsu picked her up by the collar of her shirt and looked her directly in the eye. "You're weak! We don't want you here!" He yelled as his glare intensified._

_"No…" Lucy started to sob._

_"Never come back to Fairy Tail, you always pull us down!" Erza, who she thought of as her big sister, screamed at her. _

_"NO!" Lucy screamed as she just wanted to run away and die. _

"LUCY!" Lucy snapped her eyes open to see Aniyah and Misaki hovering over her. She felt the wetness on her face and she knew that she was crying. "Thank God you are awake. You were whimpering and screaming in your sleep. I have to give props to you, you even woke me up, and I'm a heavy sleeper." Aniyah said trying to lighten up the mood. Lucy gave a dry laugh, for that was all she could do at the moment.

"You look pretty shaken, I think that you should have some hot tea to calm down. We have plenty of time until the preliminaries. They don't start until 3:15." Misaki said. She was already dressed in her regular clothes consisting of black skinny jeans and a loose graphic sweater with black leather boots.

"Are you going somewhere?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah, I'm going out to the woods to train and meet my wolf, Arata. The hotel doesn't allow wolves, so I had to leave him in the forest."

"Wait, what about that girl Artemis? She has wolves with her all the time." Lucy stated.

"Yeah, but she doesn't stay in this hotel. I heard that she is somewhere in the woods, where she is truly in her natural element or something." Misaki said with a shrug. "I'll be back around one, so I'll see you then." She said before she exited the room, leaving just Aniyah and Lucy there.

Lucy got out of bed and started to move towards the balcony. She opened the glass screen door and the cold hair immediately hit her, making her shiver. She looked off into the horizon. The sun was just over the mountains and it illuminated the outline of it, and the city looked dark with only a few lights on. The sky was a grayish-blue color and was completely cloudless. Lucy looed overhead to see a darker blue sky, symbolizing that it was very early in the morning. "Hey Aniyah?" Lucy said, gaining the attention of the other mage. "What time is it?"

"Well, the clock in our room is wrong, but seeing the position of the sun, I would say… six?" She said, not very sure herself. Aniyah placed her hand onto Lucy's shoulder and smiled. "Come, get dressed, we're going out."

"Where are we going?" Lucy asked as she turned to look at her with genuine curiosity.

"You asked me to train you, well, training starts now." Aniyah said with her hands on her hips.

"Technically, you offered to train me." Lucy deadpanned.

"Potato, pototo." She said with a nonchalant wave of her hand. "Just get ready, I expect you downstairs in exactly five minutes." She said as she turned and went into the room and then left to change.

"Well, she said her dad was a drill sergeant, so who knows what she will be like if I'm late." Lucy said to herself. _PLEASE, don't be another Erza. _Lucy thought. (Erza sneezes.)

Lucy turned around and let Aniyah have her privacy to change her clothes. After she changed into a tight black tank top and some army pants, she exited the room, leaving Lucy all alone. Lucy quickly got ready, not bothering to shower if they were about to train. She changed into some green camouflage combat pants, some black combat boots and a tight gray tank top.

Lucy started down the stairs until she was at the front door of the hotel, where Aniyah was waiting. Aniyah had put on some shades that made her look like a real army sergeant. She had a silver whistle around her neck that was dangling with the wind that came. By the time Lucy got to Aniyah, she had already sensed her. Aniyah looked at her watch as Lucy arrived. "Five minutes, two seconds." Aniyah said in a harsh tone. She then gave out an exasperated sigh. "I guess it can't be helped, it _is_ your first day after all. Come now, we will go to the training grounds. Do _not_ fall behind." Aniyah stated as she regarded Lucy as if they had never met before. Lucy stared at her wide eyed. She had never seen Aniyah like this. "Did I not make myself clear, Ms. Heartfilia?" Aniyah asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"No!" Lucy said a little too quickly. She cleared her voice and spoke again. "I mean, I am ready to follow your orders…ma'am?" She said in a questioning tone. Even though Lucy could not see her eyes, Aniyah's smile gave away that she was amused.

"Very well then, come, let us go. It is a mile walk until we get there." Aniyah said before she leaned into Lucy's ear and started to whisper. "Before you ask why, let's just say that there are some people here that will take _any_ chance they get to exploit your weakness. Be on guard, okay?" Aniyah said as she leaned back and started to walk again. Lucy followed quickly, not wanting to know the consequences if she didn't.

They arrived at their training spot almost exactly an hour after they left. It was a medium sized plain that consisted of dirt and a small spring to the side. The rest of the surrounding area was trees and dese forest. Lucy was taking in the serenity of the spot, but was quickly distracted by the rumbling from beneath her. She quickly jumped away, and saw that there was a large column coming of electricity out from the ground in blue sparks. Lucy felt her blood boil. "You trying to kill me or something?" She yelled over to her. Aniyah just gave a nonchalant shrug.

"You can't let these kinds of things distract you. I have to say, your ability to sense my lightning from underground was impressive, but let me warn you, training has just begun."

To this, Lucy let out a groan.

Aniyah had been trying to get Lucy to work on her speed, strength, and stamina. Lucy seemed fully determined, but there is only so much you could do in one day.

"Hey, Aniyah? Can we take a break?" Lucy said out of breath.

"Do you think you can call a time out in a match?" Aniyah said with a serious expression, making Lucy shudder. "I guess it was completely pointless training you then. You'll never make it." This made Lucy's blood boil, and her hand started to glow, which made Aniyah raise an eyebrow. She decided to push forward. "Pathetic." Aniyah said as she turned to leave the clearing.

"I am _not _pathetic." Lucy yelled after her as her hands started to shine brightly. "You don't know anything! I _will _become strong!" She screamed as a bright light shot out of her and was aimed straight for Aniyah. She quickly dodged, the shot just barely missing her. The beam on light shot towards a boulder, and the moment it hit it, the boulder exploded. Aniyah brought herself back into a standing position, and slowly walked towards a shocked Lucy. Aniyah took off her glasses and put her hand on Lucy's shoulder, and gave the same smile she did when they first met.

"I know." She said softly. She put her sunglasses back on and started to make her way to the spring. "You have ten minutes to relax." Aniyah said without turning around. Lucy was still standing in the same spot, trying to contemplate what had happened. After she finally figured it out, she turned to Aniyah who was walking away.

"ANIYAH!" Lucy yelled across the field, making Aniyah look at her. "Thanks!" She said as she grinned so big, that even Aniyah, in her army trainer mode, and to give a slight smile at.

"I'm always here to help." Was the only thing she said. Lucy ran after her to join her at the spring. When they got half way there, they heard rustling in the bushes. Aniyah quickly sparked her hand full of electricity and shot it into the ground, making the lightning travel in the direction the sound was coming from. A figure jumped out of the bushes and ran towards Aniyah in lightning fast speed. Aniyah dodged an attack from a hunting knife that was headed for her face.

When Lucy could finally get a good look at the figure, she saw that it was the girl that she met last night. What was her name? Artemis! That was it. Her pack of about six huge wolves were behind her, making sure that she was safe. They were growling a bit at Aniyah, who was probably seen as a threat.

"Were you spying on us?" Aniyah asked with malice in her tone. Artemis backed up, but not because she was intimidated. She looked like she couldn't care less if she was there or not.

"I was just going out for a morning run. This forest doesn't belong to you, you know. Besides, spying isn't honorable. Without honor, victory is meaningless." The platinum blonde haired girl said mysteriously as she turned around and headed back to her pack. However, she stopped before she could reach the forest. "That was quite impressive what you did, Ms. Heartfilia. I'm sorry for the interruption." She finally said as she disappeared back into the woods.

"You know her?" Aniyah asked.

"Yeah, I met her last night." Lucy said as they continued onto the spring. When they reached there, they sat down and took a drink from the fresh pool of water.

"So, what was that you just did there?" Aniyah asked with a raised eyebrow. Lucy met her gaze, and the look in her eyes told Aniyah that she didn't know.

"Oh, I know someone who'll know!" She took out one of her celestial keys from her belt. "Open, gate of The Southern Cross, Crux!" She said as a brilliant golden light was displayed next to her. Once the light subsided, an old, cross-like figure stood next to Lucy.

"Yes, Ms. Lucy?" A tired voice coming from the cross asked. Lucy turned to Crux and knelt down.

"Crux, do you know anything about celestial caster magic?" Lucy asked. Crux just said that he would check and then fell asleep. Aniyah cocked her head to the side, wondering what was going on. Lucy looked at her and mouthed 'I'll tell you later.' Suddenly, Crux woke up with a serious expression. "What did you find?"

"Apparently, there is another type of Celestial caster magic other than Urano Metria. This spell is very draining, but can be very powerful in battle. It takes a long time to get the spell right, and even then you cannot use it probably more than three times. This is called Cosmic Beam, because it takes power from the heavens and turns it into your power. It is strongest at night." Crux explained in one long breath.

"Well, how do I activate it?" Lucy asked.

"There are some things in this world that you have to find out for yourself, child." Crux said before he disappeared, making a vein pop on Lucy's head.

"Aniyah, cover your ears." Lucy said with gritted teeth. Aniyah became confused but she did so, anyway. Lucy took one big breath. "WHY THE HELL CAN'T MY SPIRITS HELP ME WITHOUT GIVING ME SOME DAMN RIDDLE!?" Lucy yelled to no one as she took deep breaths to calm herself down. Aniyah removed her hands from her ears and raised her eyebrows. Deciding not to push the subject, seeing Lucy already looked pretty pissed off, she put back on her sunglasses and walked to Lucy.

"We still have two hours until the preliminaries start! I'll go easy on you. Ten laps around the clearing." Aniyah said in a harsh voice. Lucy was about to protest, but decided that it was probably best if she didn't. Lucy just started to run.

_I know you'll make it, Lucy. You are a strong girl. _Aniyah thought as she looked at Lucy's retreating figure.

* * *

><p>The preliminaries were starting in twenty minutes and Lucy was <em>really <em>scared. She kept pacing back and forth in her room, trying to get rid of the anxiety, but that was overcome by the feeling that she would fail.

Aniyah was out to grab some drinks for them, so Lucy was in the room alone. Suddenly, the door opened, snapping Lucy out of her daze. Standing in the door was Misaki, who had an average-sized wolf next to her. "I thought that animals weren't allowed in the hotel." Lucy said with a tilt of her head. Misaki just brought a finger to her lips and quickly closed the door.

"Lucy, meet Arata, my wolf. Arata, meet my roommate, Lucy."

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Lucy." Arata said as he bowed. Lucy, even though a bit shocked, bowed back.

"The pleasure is all mine." Lucy said back to the brilliant white wolf. Arata looked up at her with questioning eyes.

"You are not shocked that I can talk?" Arata asked. Lucy shook her head.

"No, my best friend has a cat that can talk." Right after Lucy said that, the communication lacrima on the bedside table started to glow. Lucy picked it up and turned it on. "Hello?" Lucy said into it. On the screen showed the people she wanted to see most right now: Natsu, Gray, and Erza.

"LUCE! I MISS YOU!" Natsu yelled as anime tears started to stream down his face. Erza quickly hit him on the back of his head.

"We all do. We'll be watching from Fairy Tail. We wish you the best of luck, Lucy!" Erza said with a proud smile.

"I miss you guys too. And thanks for your support." Lucy said with a soft smile.

"Come back soon, okay? I can't take much more of Fire Breath's whining." Gray said with a glare towards Natsu.

"What did you say, Frostbite?" Natsu yelled.

"You heard me…"

"I'm shutting off now!" Lucy said as she quickly shut off the lacrima and put it on the table, while breathing a huge sigh.

"Hey, was that pink haired boy your boyfriend?" Misaki asked with a smirk. Lucy blushed beet red.

"N-n-no!" Lucy screamed a little too quickly. Lucy took a deep breath and composed herself. "I mean, he's not my boyfriend. He's my best friend!" Lucy said as her blush calmed down.

"Uh huh, _sure._" Misaki said. Just then, Aniyah entered with some drinks for the two of them. _Aniyah, I have never loved you more. _

"Drink this, we have to be down in five minutes." Aniyah said. Lucy complied and drank the beverage quickly. It was sweet and left a savory taste in her mouth, and it pumped her full of energy. "Now that we're done, you two better get a move on." Aniyah said as she pushed the two out. Before Lucy exited the room, Aniyah leaned into her. "Don't use the new spell you just learned, it is still the beginning and others could use it against you." Aniyah whispered. Aniyah stood straight again, and headed down the opposite hall that Misaki and Lucy were taking. "I'll be cheering from the stands." Aniyah said.

"Thanks!" Lucy yelled after her, then ran after Misaki.

It's time for the real tournament to begin.

**Yes, I know that I haven't put more OCs in here and I'm very very very sorry! It has been a while since I have updated, and school isn't helping with that, but I will try to update more often. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Leave a comment and tell me what you thought! The rest of the OCs will show up in the next chapter. Till then, Ja ne!**


	6. The Preliminaries

The tournament hall was huge, and it reminded her of the GMG. _The GMG… the place where I couldn't win a single match. _Lucy thought as she clenched her fists. That was only a few months ago, and that was when Lucy started to eat away at her self-esteem.

The stands were packed with onlookers waiting excitedly to see the first day of the tournament: the preliminaries, where only the best of the participants were chosen to move forward. The stadium had a stone Parthenon-like structure at the top of the stands where Lucy supposed a very special person will sit to watch.

The tournament had been different than the GMG because of the fact that only individual people were participating, and not the full guilds, and they eliminated people right off the back if they couldn't complete the task given to them. It was a lot of pressure on the competitors, but it was a hell of a lot of fun to watch for the people who weren't participating.

Lucy's felt her palms starting to swear as she walked through the hall that led to the big stadium. Once she reached the end of the hall, she was blinded by the burst of light that had intruded her eyes. She quickly shielded her eyes from the light, only to adjust to it a few moments later.

"AND HERE COMES FAIRY TAIL'S OWN LUCY HEARTFILIA!" A voice said over a loudspeaker. Lucy was astounded when she heard many people cheering after they heard her name. Lucy took a quick bow before she went to where the other participants were standing. A few more names were called and the tournament was ready to start.

"Welcome to you all." A handsome man with maroon-colored hair and golden eyes said from the structure above the stands. He had a muscular build, but was not too buff. His appearance would make most girls swoon, but even from 40 feet below him, Lucy could see an emotion that she couldn't pinpoint in his eyes. "My name is Duke Isaiah, and I will be hosting the tournament this year in place of my father. I welcome you to the 3rd anniversary of the World Wizard Tournament!" Everyone in the stands erupted in applause. "Today, we will start the preliminaries, in which only 32 of you 46 will continue on to the next round. Today, we will take the participants towards a special place in Clover Forest, there they will have to prove that they have what it takes to become the World Wizard Champion, and win," the Duke uncovered a shining gold trophy from under a thick cloth. "the Wizard Champion Trophy!" Again, everyone erupted in applause. Isaiah turned his attention back to the people below him. "My staff will show you to the vehicle that you will be riding in to get to Clover Forest. Good luck to you all."

The participants were pushed to a vehicle that would take them to Clover Forest. Lucy was led to a large train, and on the inside, there was a snack bar, comfortable seats, and even a restaurant. Everyone took a seat where they wanted and just waited for the train to start. Lucy noticed that there were a lot of people she knew there. There was Apollo and Artemis, who were sitting at the far corner of the cabin, with Apollo taking a few occasional glances over to the pretty girl that was a few seats away from him. Misaki and Liz were sitting together, with Liz completely devouring a cupcake and Misaki just staring at her in astonishment. She knew that Isaac, Aniyah, and Sam were watching from the stands, so they wouldn't be here; however, it was a little heartwarming to know that she had a few familiar faces near her.

"Hey, do you mind if I sit here?" A voice asked Lucy. Lucy looked up to find a girl, who she would guess to be sixteen or seventeen. She had blue hair that was so pale that you could barely see the white streak through it and purple eyes. Her skin was slightly tanned and she had some very nice curves, which were visible with her only wearing a bikini top, making a lot of guys on the train look at her. She also had a white skirt with tall white boots. Her hair was decorated with a white Kanzashi*.

"No, I don't mind at all." Lucy said with a smile as she scooted over to make room for her. "I'm Lucy by the way."

The girl sat down and smiled back. "Hi, I'm Winter." The girl said. They shook hands and ended the conversation there while the sounds of the other's conversations and the train running on tracks were the only things you could hear. After a few moments of comfortable silence, Winter decided to break it. "So…you nervous?" She asked.

Lucy nodded her head. "Definitely. I came here so I could prove myself to my guild and to my friends, but I'm afraid that I will fail and let everyone down." Lucy said while looking down.

"Don't let that get you down. Think of it this way, good thoughts lead you to win. If you think badly of yourself, you are throwing away all of the faith that your friends have given you. You don't want that, do you?" Winter asked. Lucy looked up and smiled, her eyes a bit glossy. However, she refused to cry, she refused to be weak.

"Thanks Winter it means a lot." Lucy said. She just looked out the window to see fresh scenery flash across her vision as the train moved. After a while, she looked to see that they were going deeper and deeper into the forest. She didn't even know that the forest _was_ this big. "Hey, where are we going anyway?" Lucy asked. Winter just shrugged.

"We are going to a realm that was created specifically by Duke Isaiah's magic. Everyone should know that." A smug voice said from behind them. Both turned their heads to see a tall man, about the age of twenty, smirking down at them.

"Go away, Jaxon. We don't need to hear your know-it-all comments." Winter said as her voice suddenly turned cold, like a frosty blizzard coming over a green field. The man, Jaxon just scoffed and walked away.

"Who was that?" Lucy asked as Winter was trying to calm herself down.

"That rat ass was Jaxon. He is just a smug know-it-all that doesn't seem to have the word 'respect' in his vocabulary." Winter said with a scoff. Lucy just nodded her head, not knowing what to say. "Well, I'm going to get a drink. You want one?" Winter asked. Lucy just shook her head. Winter shrugged and walked down the train cars. Lucy turned her attention back to the window. The scenery was passing before her eyes. Suddenly, the trees started to turn a darker shade of green, and she felt the train's speed increase. She had no idea what was going on because the window only gave her limited vision, so Lucy decided to go to the very back of the train and step out onto the platform provided. The platform had a rusty-looking ladder leading to the roof, which she climbed without hesitation. The wind was starting to pick up because of the train's pace, so Lucy's hair was flying all over the place and she was holding on for dear life to that ladder.

Once she climbed the ladder and successfully made it to the roof, she could see that the train was moving through the forest at a fast pace so it could go through a huge golden magic circle that was only a few hundred yards away from them.

Lucy decided that there was nothing to lose if she just sat up here until they passed through the circle. She walked until the middle of the roof, carefully watching her balance, and sat down. The wind on her face was refreshing, and she hasn't felt this good of a feeling in a long time.

"It's nice up here, isn't it?" A voice said from right behind her. Lucy was startled and started to lose her balance, but the person held her to make sure that she didn't fall off the train. "Be careful." The person said. Lucy looked behind her to see a muscular boy around the age of eighteen. He had snowy white hair and gray eyes. He had pale skin, but the thing that stood out to her was the scar on his left cheek that looked like it went father but she couldn't see it with the black scarf covering his mouth. He was wearing a black shirt with some heavy duty gray pants and metal boots. He had two broadswords strapped to his back on top of a black cloak that had a white fur lining at the top.

"Thanks." That was all that Lucy could say. The man just gave a silent nod and sat next to her, enjoying the wind on his face also. "I'm Lucy, what's your name?" Lucy said after she decided to make conversation with the newcomer.

"I'm Eno." He said simply. Lucy took this as a message to stay silent. She turned her attention towards the magic circle that was only a few feet away from them now. They passed through a second later and Lucy could feel as if a force was pushing her back. She instinctively latched onto Eno for support, who tensed up a bit at her touch, but then settled down shortly afterward. After Lucy opened her eyes she saw that they were in a different forest than the one before. It wasn't like the normal woods of Clover Forest, this forest looked more mystical with fog intertwining with the branches on trees and the beautiful hedge maze that lay before them. They were standing in a foggy clearing with the hedge maze around them, and many different paths leading into it.

Lucy and Eno hopped off the top of the train and stood where all the other participants were standing when they exited the train. Everyone was staring in wonder of the huge forest. Lucy was about to step forward to get a better look of the misty maze, but was pushed down forcefully. She looked up to see the one that had pushed her was the one that Winter was complaining about on the train: Jaxon, in all of his bastardly glory. Eno reached out to Lucy to help her up, but Lucy's eyes were still transfixed to the man who had his back to her, but she was sure that she could see the smug grin on his face. She could see why Winter hated him now.

"Are you okay?" Eno asked. Lucy turned to him and gave him a grateful smile while nodding her head. Eno gave a curt nod and helped her up. Before Lucy could say anything else, a voice interrupted her.

"Alright, listen up everyone!" The voice boomed. Everyone turned to see a middle aged man. "This will be the preliminary round, the first 32 to make it to the designated point will continue and the rest of you fourteen will be either sent home or killed within the maze." He said stoically, making it all the creepier. Lucy tuned out of what he was saying and turned to Eno.

"_Killed? _We could get _killed _in this?" Lucy asked with fear in her eyes. Eno sighed.

"These games are not for the faint hearted. The people who run this game have no sympathy for the weak, and make this round specifically hard for those who are not qualified. That is how the preliminaries work." He said, not looking at her. Lucy sighed, knowing that she wouldn't get anything else out of him. Luckily, she tuned in to the instructions the man was giving her at the right time.

"The rules are simple. Look around you." The man said, and everyone complied. Lucy counted a total of 46 different paths you could take at the start of the maze, where they were at. Each of the paths was numbered. "Each one of you will take a different path in order to reach to objective spot. We will not tell you where it is, but let's just say that you'll know when you are there. You will encounter things in there that look like they have been sent straight from hell, so if you can't take it, you should quit now." No one backed out. "Very well then, pick a starting position." He instructed. Everyone was about to move. "Oh, and one more thing: You might encounter other participants in the maze, you can either fight them or pass them. But let me tell you, making allies in this tournament is not recommended." He finally said as he turned away. _Like hell I'm not making allies. _Lucy thought.

The crowd dispersed while Lucy was still contemplating what happened. When she finally gained consciousness out of her dreamy state, she went over to the path that had the number '7' over the entrance. Lucy looked to her left to see that Misaki was only two spaces away from her at number '5' with Arata at her side. She looked to her left to find Artemis and her pack of about six wolves right next to her, and Apollo a couple spaces down, meaning that they weren't participating together.

A gun shot sounded in the air and Lucy knew that that was the symbol to start. She ran down her path and started the maze.

Back at the arena, the viewers were watching from the huge lacrima in the sky. It switches from player to player just to let the people check up on what they are doing. Aniyah was sitting on her seat looking bored. She only tuned in when Aniyah was there, so that left 45 people out. Aniyah sighed, and hoped that Lucy would be okay. _This game isn't for the weak-hearted. People can actually get hurt. _Aniyah thought as she let out another sigh.

"Well someone's sighing a lot." A voice said next to Aniyah. Aniyah looked up to see Isaac towering over her. "You worried about Lucy?" He asked as he sat down in the seat next to her. Aniyah nodded.

"Yeah, I don't want her to get hurt." Aniyah said with her head down and her light brown hair covering her eyes.

"Hey, you taught her, right? I'm sure she'll be fine." Isaac said awkwardly patting her shoulder. Aniyah looked at him, blankly at first, but then she started to grin. It was a grin that Isaac had never seen her give him, and it made him smile. They both just turned back to the lacrima, not saying another word. There was a bit of an awkward tension, but luckily, there was always that one tension breaker.

"HEY GUYS! I BROUGHT POPCORN!" Someone yelled as they ran up and took a seat next to Isaac. It was none other than the happy-go-lucky Samuel Steele.

"Thanks Sam." Isaac said simply as he took some of the popcorn. "What took you so long to get here?" Isaac asked.

"I was helping my brother train. He isn't participating in the games, but he still sometimes needs my help. You remember Jack, right?" Sam asked Isaac. Isaac nodded. "Well, he's coming over this evening, so you can meet him then." Sam said as he turned back to the lacrima. Aniyah and Isaac did the same. And the preliminaries continued. However, one person was watching more intently than all of them.

Duke Isaiah had a smirk on his face.

**I could of continued but I thought that this might be a good place to stop. Anyway, I hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter. I'm working on the next chapter as we speak, so if your OC hasn't shown up yet, they will DEFINITELY show up in the next one. Alright, I hope everyone is having a great day where ever they are. K, bye! :)**


End file.
